Unacceptable whistleblowing at Blackfriars

[AnkleBoots]

I'm not sure how to spell dispatcher, sorry. But at Blackfriars station I have twice heard the dispatcher blowing the whistle while their microphone is switched on.

This is unacceptable as it can cause tinnitus.

How best to address this? With the individual concerned / employer / TFL / HSE?

 

[transportphoto]

Contact Customer Services for Thameslink - https://www.thameslinkrailway.com/help-and-support/contact-us

 

[johnnychips]

This is probably a situation where nobody has realised distress can be caused, so I think transportphoto's idea is a good one.

 

[dtaylor84]

I'd expect the whistle itself to be louder than the sound out of the speakers after it has been amplified (and clipped)...

 

[Tubeboy]

An amplified whistle sounds very unpleasant. My ears wouldn’t like that. Definitely follow it up as others have said.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I'm not sure how to spell dispatcher, sorry. But at Blackfriars station I have twice heard the dispatcher blowing the whistle while their microphone is switched on.

This is unacceptable as it can cause tinnitus.

How best to address this? With the individual concerned / employer / TFL / HSE?

I haven't been to Blackfriars to a while and so can't personally comment but sudden loud noise can also cause temporary threshold shift (TTS) and hyperacusis.

Before making any sort of complaint, it might stand up better if you can provide quantitative evidence - e.g. measuring the peak dB using an A-weighted sound level meter

Also, any amount of stress will reduce one's tolerance level to loud sounds

 

[AnkleBoots]

Before making any sort of complaint, it might stand up better if you can provide quantitative evidence - e.g. measuring the peak dB using an A-weighted sound level meter

Thank you, I will have to try to borrow one as they seem expensive.

I probably need to be able to identify the individual, but ideally without being confrontational.

 

[edwin_m]

I'd have thought you could point out the concern without identifying a specific person, they could just put out a general notice to all staff and include it in the training prograrmme, and it avoids personalising the issue.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Is there a further issue that the microphone feed is probably feed into an induction loop for hearing aid users, and having a whistle down an aid is probably extremely unpleasant?

 

[Peter Mugridge]

I'm not sure about hearing aids, but my implant will cut off if the volume of anything exceeds a certain level.

99% of the time induction loops don't work properly anyway - and would generally be found at ticket office windows with an individual loop for each window, not covering a whole station.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I'm not sure about hearing aids, but my implant will cut off if the volume of anything exceeds a certain level.

99% of the time induction loops don't work properly anyway - and would generally be found at ticket office windows with an individual loop for each window, not covering a whole station.

Most modern hearing aids have compression and output-limiting circuits but it depends upon many variables such as the amount of gain/output and whether or not the compression is slow-acting or fast-acting. Usually, the younger population will have fast-acting (syllabic) compression as they can keep up with running speech whilst most of the older population will have slow-acting compression to take account of poorer speech discrimination. Fast-acting compression usually has fast attack times (good for sudden, transient sounds) whilst slow-acting compression will often miss them and act too late.

Anyway, this is steering off-topic

 

[Andrewh32]

I'm not sure how to spell dispatcher, sorry. But at Blackfriars station I have twice heard the dispatcher blowing the whistle while their microphone is switched on.

This is unacceptable as it can cause tinnitus.

How best to address this? With the individual concerned / employer / TFL / HSE?

Head to the station office & say on x date at x time on platform x the dispatcher left the mic on whilst using his/her whistle, would you please speak to your staff about it as it's not the first time this has happened

Should be all it needs as long as they take you seriously

 

[AlterEgo]

Before making any sort of complaint, it might stand up better if you can provide quantitative evidence - e.g. measuring the peak dB using an A-weighted sound level meter

The whistle is too loud. Make a complaint.

The dispatcher probably doesn’t realise he’s even doing it.

There is no need to do your own investigative work prior to contacting the company. Just send the complaint in.

Or, even better, just speak to a duty manager at the station next time you’re there.

 

[farleigh]

I haven't been to Blackfriars to a while and so can't personally comment but sudden loud noise can also cause temporary threshold shift (TTS) and hyperacusis.

Before making any sort of complaint, it might stand up better if you can provide quantitative evidence - e.g. measuring the peak dB using an A-weighted sound level meter

Also, any amount of stress will reduce one's tolerance level to loud sounds

This is a wind-up right?

 

[anti-pacer]

I haven't been to Blackfriars to a while and so can't personally comment but sudden loud noise can also cause temporary threshold shift (TTS) and hyperacusis.

Before making any sort of complaint, it might stand up better if you can provide quantitative evidence - e.g. measuring the peak dB using an A-weighted sound level meter

Also, any amount of stress will reduce one's tolerance level to loud sounds

I never leave home without mine.

 

[Carntyne]

You could just speak to the staff member at the time?

 

[farleigh]

I never leave home without mine.

I wonder if any of this employees colleagues feel able to speak to management about his behaviour?

 

[nottsnurse]

This is unacceptable as it can cause tinnitus.

I take it you avoid caffeinated drinks such as tea and coffee? Caffeine is a far more common aggrivating factor for sufferers of tinnitus than occasional loud noises.

 

[DarloRich]

The whistle is too loud. Make a complaint.

The dispatcher probably doesn’t realise he’s even doing it.

There is no need to do your own investigative work prior to contacting the company. Just send the complaint in.

Or, even better, just speak to a duty manager at the station next time you’re there.

Is the correct answer - no need for the usual RUK vast overreaction

 

[Bletchleyite]

A side point on this - when the Hamburg S-Bahn had platform dispatchers, they used to deliberately and as a matter of policy blow the whistle over the PA to ensure it was heard.

 

[ComUtoR]

You could just speak to the staff member at the time?

This is the correct answer. Just speak to the staff member and point out what happened. No doubt they heard it themselves but a polite word goes a very long way and would no doubt get an apology.

A side point on this - when the Hamburg S-Bahn had platform dispatchers, they used to deliberately and as a matter of policy blow the whistle over the PA to ensure it was heard.

Maybe we should instigate this over hear. After all isn't that the typical request on RUK. Germany is doing this so we should too. I do wonder how many times it was reported to a Manager and how many German commuters suffer from tinnitus.

 

[anti-pacer]

I wonder if any of this employees colleagues feel able to speak to management about his behaviour?

Not quite sure how this follows on from my tongue-in-cheek comment to be honest, but hey ho.

On a serious note, a quick word with a manager at Blackfriars is all that's probably needed, rather than sound monitoring equipment, camera footage, private investigators, the issue being raised in parliament, etc.

As DarloRich says, vast over-reaction!

 

[hwl]

This is the correct answer. Just speak to the staff member and point out what happened. No doubt they heard it themselves but a polite word goes a very long way and would no doubt get an apology.



Maybe we should instigate this over hear. After all isn't that the typical request on RUK. Germany is doing this so we should too. I do wonder how many times it was reported to a Manager and how many German commuters suffer from tinnitus.

This may well be needed to keep dwell times suitable low in the Thameslink Core by injecting a sense of "get a move on" to boarding passengers.

 

[Jonfun]

I wonder if any of this employees colleagues feel able to speak to management about his behaviour?

Behaviour (!) He's blowing a whistle into a microphone he probably hasn't noticed is still on. He's more likely to damage the PA equipment than anyone's ears - I think we're suffering once again from a RailUK lack of distinction between minor frustration/inconvenience and a capital offence!

 

[Bigfoot]

He must be dismissed immediately!

 

[Dougal2345]

I wonder if any of this employees colleagues feel able to speak to management about his behaviour?

Wouldn't they be labelled as whistleblowers if they did that?

Seriously, as I've mentioned on other threads, I do find whistles painfully loud sometimes, and there are plenty of blowhards around who, umm, blow too hard...

Portsmouth & Southsea through platforms are a particularly noisy area, with whistle blasts amplified by its low roof and screeching flanges on its tight curves... I wonder if the staff there worry about their hearing...

My tinnitus has been most recently increased, absurdly, by the toilet seat in a 158 crashing down... It was like a gunshot at close range

 

[TheEdge]

He must be dismissed immediately!

Never let an awful member of rail staff get away so lightly. Public hanging is the only suitable punishment.

 

[farleigh]

Wouldn't they be labelled as whistleblowers if they did that?

Wahey - sorry everybody it was a poor attempt at humour upthread on my part

 

[Dougal2345]

Wahey - sorry everybody it was a poor attempt at humour upthread on my part

Ah sorry, that was too subtle an approach for me so I spelt it out

 

[D365]

This is unacceptable as it can cause tinnitus.

Surely unless it's an extremely shrill sound, only through prolonged exposure, i.e. standing too close to the speaker for too long?